Window Rock
by Toni
Summary: In a "concept fusion" with Once Upon a Time, several much loved GFFA characters have had their memories wiped and have new lives in "Window Rock" which is in the United States. Everything that happens in "Window Rock" has a corresponding GFFA flashback. Will they return and defeat the cloned emperor? You don't need to know anything about Once Upon a Time to understand and enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

Ian couldn't believe that he had never noticed the absolutely amazing redhead in front of him. It probably had something to do with her being a cop. He'd never paid much attention to them except to drive slowly and carefully past the police station. Everyone knew those had to be fat men who had nothing to do but eat doughnuts at the coffee shop, especially in an extremely boring, quiet town like Window Rock.

The one who had pulled him over for speeding, however, definitely did not meet that description. She had bright green eyes with long eyelashes, and his eyes couldn't stop glancing down to her curves, as much as he tried to keep that from happening so as not to get in further trouble. As might be expected of an officer, she didn't at first glance look like someone who would let that slide or consider it a compliment. The last thing Ian needed was some lecture on how not to behave like a sexist pig from some woman who didn't even know him.

She could give him a ticket, though, so he was determined to not have any trouble with her. He just needed to go on with his day and convince her to go on with her day without getting arrested, sued or in any other major trouble. There were so many stories going around about cops on power trips, even the ones going about boring traffic duty.

"Do you know why I pulled you over?" she asked. Ian spent a second trying to decide whether he should answer honestly or not. He wasn't even in a hurry, but there was nobody else on the smooth road. It was just so tempting to see how fast he could go without being unsafe. He wasn't the type to try anything crazy or dangerous, and it wasn't like he was stupid enough to put someone else in danger.

Well, there wasn't anyone else until the cop car had come out of nowhere. Then again, if he was very lucky this particular day, that might not turn out to be a bad thing. He had felt lonely ever since his last girlfriend left him and he still winced when he saw her around town with her new guy. He wished, not for the first time, that Window Rock was much bigger. A bigger city might even have enough cars that his speeding might not be noticed. But he had in fact been speeding. He knew perfectly well that he'd been speeding even if he hadn't exactly been staring at his odometer the entire trip.

For whatever reason, Ian decided to tell her the truth. "I was speeding?"

The cop seemed to consider this answer for a moment while Ian watched for any sign of whether or not he was actually going to get a ticket. He watched as politely and patiently as he possibly could.

All right, he also noticed her perfect cheekbones and jawline, which was unusual to notice in such detail when he was nervous. And being pulled over always made him nervous, even though he didn't see how he could or at least should get worse than a ticket. It wasn't like he'd been drinking or racing another car or anything stupid and dangerous like that.

Then again, maybe it wasn't the ticket Ian was nervous about. This woman was intense, with every little movement controlled. Not necessarily in a bad way – he didn't know her enough to know that yet – but intense in any case. Definitely a Type A, as they called it in that pop psychology class he had taken a few years back. He'd thought it a dumb class with descriptions that didn't work for actual people until now.

Was she new to Window Rock? How had he never seen her before? He was certain he'd remember seeing this woman if she'd been in town long. It wasn't like it was exactly full of beautiful, intense women. It was nothing but some businesses surrounded by farmland and he'd wanted to move years ago, but hadn't been able to find a job somewhere more exciting. Come to think of it, it wasn't just him. Nobody seemed to get out of town and start a more interesting life somewhere else.

It seemed so strange that he hadn't noticed that somewhat depressing fact either in all these years. Come to think of it, how literal was it that nobody ever seemed to get out of Window Rock? There must be someone he knew who had gotten out of it for good at some point. He just couldn't remember at the moment who had actually been able to find a better life for some reason.

Maybe that was because too much of his mental energy was spent looking at this cop. She was probably going to notice his ogling her, and that would get him a ticket for sure. He only had so much money and didn't need to pay a ticket as well as higher insurance rates, so he tried to keep his expression as serious as he could possibly make it.

"Yes, you were," she finally answered, though she seemed to be considering what she was going to say next. Ian wasn't sure what the hesitation even meant, and he didn't dare hope it was good. He hadn't had much good luck in his life. But when she finished, it wasn't bad news at all.

"I'm sure you were going somewhere for work and the speed limits can be tough around here, so I'm goingto let you off with a warning, but don't let me catch you again."

Actually, Ian wasn't working that day, but he felt no need to tell her that. He only wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but breathing at all was hard around this woman. Having this affect on people must have been what led her to become a cop in the first place.

"Thank you," he said, and he certainly meant it. "I promise I won't speed again, Officer _"

"Leyman," she answered the unspoken question. She then gave him a look which made Ian sure that she'd noticed his ogling. It was one that couldn't quite decide whether to become increasingly stern or roll her eyes. At least she'd promised to give him a warning just in time, even if Ian didn't really stand a chance with her. For all he knew, she was part of a couple or wasn't interested in guys like him. He didn't see a ring on her left hand, however. This was a promising first sign that he might somehow be able to see her again and learn something about her, such as how he could have not seen her around town all this time. Could she be new to town? Where would she be from that Window Rock was a better option?

Ian could tell that it was now or never. "Officer Leyman, I probably shouldn't be asking this while you're on the job, but I was wondering if I could make my day and yours more interesting by buying you a cup of coffee when you get off work."

She seemed to consider this for a moment, but didn't give him any reason to be too hopeful. "I really shouldn't. I don't even know you and I don't want it to look like you bribed me."

Still, although it might have been a figment of Ian's imagination, he thought that she might want to spend more time with him in spite of herself. At least she didn't drive off as quickly as she could have.

"But it wouldn't be a bribe," Ian tried. "After all, you said you were going to just give me a warning before I said anything about coffee."

"So I did," she said, surprisingly thoughtfully. Ian felt his heart begin to race.

But she looked stern again. "As long as it's really just for coffee."

Ian tried to smile his most trusting smile. "Yes, it really is just for coffee. I don't want to jump into a commitment or get you in trouble with the police department or anything like that."

"All right," said Officer Leyman. Ian realized that he still didn't even know her first name.

"If I can have your name, I'll meet you for coffee on Saturday after you get off work."

"It's Tara." She paused for a second. "And I'm on the night shift Friday night. But I could use coffee at 9 a.m. so I don't sleep all day. I have things to do."

"Perfect," said Ian, not believing how good his luck had turned out. "At the Coffee Bean?"

"Sure, farmboy." Ian thought Tara was going to laugh at him because of his boring clothes and naivety, but somehow she didn't. And with that, Tara headed back to her patrol car and drove off. Ian watched her drive away until she was out of sight, far down the road and away from town. He certainly didn't feel ready to drive again for another minute until he'd started to process what had just happened.

He couldn't say what had made him give such a crazy, spontaneous request to this Tara. He didn't know if they had anything in common or if she really had a softer side. Still, he couldn't help but feel excited, as though he had finally found someone worth staying in Window Rock for. At least his day had suddenly become more interesting, even if it never led to anywhere. Maybe he didn't even want it to lead to anywhere, not if Tara turned out to be too hard somehow for him, but he could still enjoy it while it lasted.

His confidence lasted the rest of the day, even though he couldn't even say for sure that Tara would even show up. Maybe he just needed something interesting to happen to spice up his boring life. Or make that someone.


	2. Chapter 2

_Galaxy Far Far Away – the not-so-distant past_

As Luke approached Mara's quarters, he found himself less nervous than he thought he would be. It probably had something to do with actually knowing Mara and working with her before asking her out. Come to think of it, this was the first time he'd actually waited to get to know a woman, then ask her on a date. Maybe rushing was causing more problems in his romantic life then he realized.

Only a few moments after he rang the bell, Mara answered the door. She looked beautiful as usual, wearing a green dress that perfectly accentuated her figure.

"Skywalker, I don't believe this," started Mara as soon as she'd open the door and had a moment to take him in. While she didn't sound disappointed, Luke still wondered what made her sound incredulous. He hadn't gone out of his way as he could only imagine her reaction to his showing up with a huge romantic gift. The gift that he did have he hadn't even said anything about yet or taken out of his wallet.

"Believe what?" he asked. This date had been a long time coming. While they famously hadn't exactly been friends at first, he'd been attracted to her on some level. And with Palpatine gone, she couldn't keep being the Emperor's Hand forever. She knew that, even if she hadn't wanted to admit it, even to herself.

Mara was stubborn. It was a trait that Luke could appreciate in terms of staying the course even when the going got tough. It had gotten her through the times in which she felt absolutely alone.

Changing her mind, however, could be a challenge. Even on something that seemed as obvious to him as Palpatine being evil.

But now Luke was just excited that it had finally happened. And, more importantly at the moment, she had also changed her mind about his supposedly, unintentionally ruining her life.

"That the two of us are actually going on a date."

Luke smiled. "That you stopped threatening to kill me or that we actually have time in between galactic crises to go on a date?"

Mara pretended to consider for a moment. "Both, I think, have been quite a long time coming."

"Yes, they have," Luke said in the most sincere and calm voice be could possibly manage at the moment.

The two of them walked towards Luke's speeder, him trying to savor the moment. He hadn't had much time lately to concentrate on doing something for his personal life. To be completely honest, he hadn't had much time for that since he was nineteen and didn't expect to have much of it ever again. There were sacrifices involved with being a Jedi Master and seemingly having the entire Galaxy depending on you to save it from the latest crisis.

That certainly didn't mean he couldn't appreciate it when he did get some time that he could spend time with Mara and watch her by candlelight. He hoped that it would lead to a future with her. He was tired being alone and searching for love and never quite finding it.

And then when Mara started to be willing to work with him at least, he saw that starting to change. Somehow the Force had brought them together and changed her heart, and he couldn't thank the Force enough for that. She'd realized what he'd known from early on – that she was capable of loving and being loved in return – no matter what she'd thought or how she'd been raised.

They arrived at the restaurant, which Luke had picked for being quiet enough that he could hear himself think and having an atmosphere that encouraged not wanting to end the evening too early. He hadn't told anyone where he'd made reservations and made them under an assumed name so as not to have the HoloReporters camped out there.

The last thing he wanted was HoloReporters calling out questions and trying to overhear his and Mara's conversation. He wanted to enjoy Mara and show her how serious he was about her. He didn't need interruptions, especially when he wanted to pretend he was part of a relatively normal couple with no serious problems to worry about. The dealing with the Holonews being hungry for information about how their relationship was coming along could wait until another day. Or never at all, for all he cared.

After they had been seated, Luke tried to keep his sigh of relief to himself that Mara seemed to approve of his choice. Even without the Force, he could tell by her green eyes shining in a seemingly very good mood for her. He reached into his wallet and took out a small box. It seemed right enough that he wasn't nervous at all about parting with what was inside or how Mara would respond to receiving this so soon.

"I know this seems soon, but I wanted to give you this before I ran out of courage," began Luke. "It's something I wanted you to have ever since I saw it."

"You know you didn't have to get me anything," said Mara, but she certainly was watching the box curiously. Luke handed it to her and she began to open it. It was a beautiful green necklace that matched her dress perfectly. It had made Luke think of Mara's green eyes the first moment he'd seen it.

"No, I know I didn't, but I thought this would look perfect on you. And there's a story behind it – I didn't just go out and buy this for you. Actually, I never bought it at all."

Mara was surprised at that. "How did you get it then?"

"I haven't had this long," Luke began. "But when I went to Naboo to meet the Naberries and went through everything they had been keeping in the basement of my aunt's house, Leia insisted that I keep something."

Mara gasped. "Luke, did this belong to your mother?"

Luke nodded. "Yes, it did. And I've been waiting for the perfect woman to pass it on to."

For once, Mara was actually speechless for a moment. Luke was just happy that he had something to give her to show how serious he was about her. Not to mention how sure he was that the Force had brought them together.

Mara wasn't used to being loved just for who she was or having a family. Luke was happy to teach her how to receive all this and was willing to be patient. Mara was worth it. Her passion, her intelligence, her ability to treat him as a man instead of a Jedi Master, were all worth fighting for.

"Skywalker, I think this is the most beautiful present anyone has ever given me." Mara smiled. She'd been smiling more often than usual recently, which Luke took as a very good sign.

"I'll have to keep that in mind," Luke said. "I want to be able to show you how much I care about you."

"And I could see myself falling in love with you." Mara stopped herself quickly, as though she wasn't sure how she wanted to continue. "I'll always treasure this," she continued. "You don't give something like this to just anyone."

"No, you don't." Their food arrived at that moment and their conversation stopped at that second. "I didn't mean to overwhelm you by giving you too much; this just seemed like the perfect opportunity."

"It is," said Mara. "After all, how often do we get to go someplace like this where you can actually wear a necklace?"

"Not too often," smiled Luke. "I don't think that matters much to either of us, though, if we can make it special when we do."

"True," said Mara. "We're always going to be busy saving the Galaxy from whatever comes its way."

"Even if we want to take a break?" Luke asked in a hopeful tone, even though he already knew the answer perfectly well.

"Oh, yes," Mara shook her head. "They'll be breathing down our neck if we don't. And you wouldn't be able to live with yourself." Mara already did know him entirely too well, inside and out. And she still thought she could love him. This was one of the many things that Luke adored about Mara.

"True," Luke got to say this time. "It's our job."

"And I know you wouldn't have it any other way."

"No, I wouldn't," said Luke, and he realized that he was telling the truth. "It's using my skills the best way I know how."

Mara nodded. Luke knew that this was something about himself she could appreciate. After all, she wasn't one to let useful skills go to waste when they could be used for a good cause.

By the time they left the restaurant, neither of them wanted the night to be over yet, so they went to Luke's quarters.

"Why Skywalker, you have a very nice quarters here," said Mara. Luke had almost forgotten that Mara had never been there before.

"Am I getting a compliment from Mara Jade?" Luke asked, pretending more surprise than he actually felt.

"Don't count on another one anytime real soon," she replied. Luke wasn't absolutely sure how serious she was, but her good mood did seem to be continuing.

So he inched closer and closer while they apparently just continued to talk. Mara appeared completely comfortable with this and, more than that, she seemed to expect it.

And then, before he knew it, their lips had met. He let himself get completely in the moment, in the feel of her soft lips against his and the smell of her perfume.

It felt so right, and it wasn't because it had been entirely too long. He was absolutely sure, at that moment, that this would be his last first kiss. It was about time, and he wasn't sure he ever wanted it to end.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - GFFA Past

Picking up the hyperdrive from the factory outlet, the cloned Emperor could barely contain his glee. Now he would have the ability to remove all threats from the Galaxy where he wouldn or the rest of his galaxy for that matter Why go through all this trouble?If you can get control of them enough to wipe their memories and get them in a ship, why don

**ll be there eventually to get their DNA,**Ill need a new Sith apprentice are they going? Do you know anything about this place?The Force doesnt be manipulated the way it can be here. But there are plenty of humans with no space travel ability and boring perfect, Your Majesty. They won or even leave the won** The Emperor laughed his insane laugh. t include leaving or being able to set up a new life somewhere else.**That will certainly help finding them when you are you sure you can reach this planet safely?I programmed this myself,I

**At this point, the Emperor started looking around the ships that were available at the factory, trying to decide which one would be able to handle such a long journey outside the Galaxy. He finally settled on one: a shiny brand-new freighter with only factory markings on it. **

**the Emperor asked one of the factory workers. The young man looked too terrified to speak for a moment and froze. finally came out. s not the norm, but there is no reason that shouldn **

**the Emperor turned to his assistant. **

**He looked up from his datapad, where he had been searching for some information. **

**the Emperor said. He couldn and he was sure he could invent many for their new lives between then and the next standard week. **

**There was so much to do. New memories to plan, an excuse to get everyone on the ship, and more, but he was sure he would enjoy all of it.**


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

_Window Rock Elementary _

"Jennifer!"

Jennifer turned around, surprised to hear a boy's voice calling her name. Didn't all boys think that girls had cooties? This didn't seem fair, as she knew she didn't have cooties and didn't think that boys had cooties, but there it was.

She saw Victor looking in her direction and trying to get her attention. At least he wasn't one of the boys who teased her every so often. In fact, he was almost cute, with an angular face and dark hair. Better yet, this seemed to be actually trying to talk to her about something. It was nice. Her parents had told her that it would get better when the boys started "maturing" and it would be great if that had actually started to happen.

"What is it, Victor?" she asked. She found herself surprisingly interested. Somehow she knew that something interesting was about to happen.

Victor suddenly looked almost embarrassed. "I know that you're the best in the class in woodshop," he started.

It was true that unlike a lot of girls who thought working with their hands was icky, Jennifer didn't mind. It was fun to make things and work with things, and she didn't care who thought that "little ladies didn't get dirty."

"Thanks, Victor," said Jennifer. It actually was nice to know that Victor thought that.

"So, I was wondering if you could help me with the tools," Victor said hopefully.

"Sure, "Jennifer said, hoping that Victor had time right then to work with the tools. Her mom was at work and she didn't feel like being home alone. Her TV show wouldn't even be on for hours and she didn't have that much homework.

As the two walked towards the woodshop, Jennifer wondered if it would be open. She hoped it would be. There would be no breaking in, not with Victor around. He could be such a goody-two-shoes at times. In fact, he was the only one in the class Jennifer knew for sure had told on another student. Luckily, it wasn't her, so she couldn't exactly hold a grudge.

Even better, the woodshop was still open. Jennifer then realized she had no idea what Victor was supposed to be making for class.

"What are you making out of wood?" she asked. Hopefully it was something interesting and not too hard to carve.

"A spaceship," he answered. "Want to see what I've made so far?"

"Yes," she said. "Isn't that why we're here?" she continued in spite of herself. She then hoped that Victor wouldn't be offended or anything.

"So it is," said Victor with a smile that seemed to last a second longer than necessary. He then walked over to one of the benches and indicated what looked like the beginning of a vehicle of some kind. It wasn't a bad start at all, even if it did have some work to go to actually look like a spaceship.

"I think I know what you might want to do from here," Jennifer started, taking the wooden figure down. She then found some of the tools and showed Victor how to do the detail work. He did some of it himself while Jennifer watched carefully to see that he was doing it right.

Victor looked impressed. "Now that wood is actually starting to look like something recognizable," he said, turning it over and looking at it from every angle.

He then turned toward Jennifer. "What have you been working on?" he asked, sounding like he was actually interested.

"A sword," she answered. She was actually proud of it – it was coming along so well.

"Really?' he asked. "I mean, you like fantasy stories?"

In fact, Jennifer actually did, especially the ones with lots of interesting women and battles and romance. Not that she'd been able to read them all yet, but she read more all the time. "Yes," She answered. "Especially King Arthur stories, the ones modern people wrote." The Medieval versions were so sexist – the girls had absolutely nothing to do but be controlled by the guys.

"That's cool, I guess," said Victor.

"Anyway," continued Jennifer. "Here's how I'm going to finish up this sword."

As she showed him, Victor began to look impressed. "You're pretty cool for a girl," he said. "I'm glad I asked you to come back here, even if it means staying after school."

"Thanks," said Jennifer. "And I don't mind. My mom's still at work anyway and the house gets too quiet."

"So does mine," said Victor. "Sometimes I think my parents are too busy being on the city council and going to the country club. They're never home, which is great when you want to have friends over or watch whatever TV shows you want, but.." Victor began to trail off.

That sounded sad – and somehow familiar. "I know exactly what you mean," Jennifer said, hoping not to sound too depressing.

Victor nodded. "Your mom's on the city council, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is." Jennifer wasn't too happy about that fact, but there it was. "It means the kids of other people on the council have to tell me exactly what she's up to and how much their parents don't like her."

Victor looked as though he was understanding her situation entirely too well. "Sorry," he said. "Seriously, that really sucks."  
"Yeah, it does," said Jennifer, who was ready to change the subject. "But I'll survive."

"Sure," Victor said. "But would it make it better if you came to my house right now? My parents and brother should be there. It wouldn't be too quiet and we could maybe find something out from my parents."

Jennifer thought that this might actually turn into something interesting. And she probably wouldn't be missed at home for hours. Even if she was, she had her phone on her if her parents bothered to call. She didn't think it too likely that they would, but you never knew for sure.

So she answered "Sure, thanks." And just a few minutes later they were out of school and headed towards Victor's house.

When they got to the front porch, Jennifer realized this just might be the biggest house in Window Rock, but it wasn't the prettiest. There were weeds in the front lawn and the color was an ugly shade of brown. There was a smaller building in the back that she thought was probably a guest house. She wondered what guests they had as there were hardly ever any visitors to Window Rock. She wondered for a moment if the inside was any better or if there was the same large but not very warm somehow feel.

Interestingly enough, it wasn't. There was comfortable furniture and the walls were a pretty shade. And Victor's mom at least was in fact home.

"Why, Victor," she began after she walked into the living room. "I didn't know that you were brining a girl home today."

Victor looked like he was about to sigh. "It's a last minute thing mom," he said. "But this is Jennifer."

Unless she was absolutely wrong, Jennifer was sure she got a disapproving look. She wasn't sure why – you could never tell with adults.

"What were you two planning to do?" she asked. In fact, she and Victor hadn't really talked about that. They were just going to hang out and avoid going back to Jennifer's house for as long as they could. There were no real plans to do anything that interesting.

"We were going to get a snack because the cafeteria lunch today was gross," said Victor. "And we stayed late to finish the woodworking project."

"Glad you finished that." Victor's mom then turned to Jennifer. "He just loved spaceships – he watches every UFO special that comes on TV."

"I didn't know that," said Jennifer, turning towards Victor, who shrugged. "But what did you want for the snack?" she continued.

Although Jennifer wasn't hungry, she did think that being in the kitchen just might be a good opportunity to overhear something about her mom. Being prepared for school remarks was always helpful.

So before long, the two of them were making sandwiches and trying to be as quiet as possible to see if they could overhear anything. But for a minute, nothing interesting actually happened. Maybe the idea was a long shot after all.

Then, however, a conversation that had a distinctly gossipy started. "I suppose Allison is going ahead with the plans to open the zoo," Victor's mom was saying to someone on the phone. "We don't have the money for it without raising taxes, and it's not like it's going to bring tourism to the town."

Jennifer couldn't help but wonder what she'd hear at school about this one. She knew that most of the kids would like the idea of a zoo coming to Window Rock, but what if all the parents were complaining about it?

And why couldn't it bring people into Window Rock? Jennifer didn't think there was any zoo nearby. She'd certainly never been to a zoo, though she'd seen plenty of wild animals around Window Rock.

"I'm sorry, Jennifer." Victor said. "She shouldn't be complaining about your mom like that."

"Thanks," Jennifer said. "But it's not your fault." And she meant it – both that it was nice to know that Victor cared and that it wasn't his fault if his mom behaved that way.

"But still," Victor said. "Would you like me to walk you home after you finish your sandwich?"

"Sure," said Jennifer. "Though I'm not in any big hurry." It really was a nice gesture from him, and one that she could actually appreciate. She spent too much time alone a lot of days.

"Thanks for making my day more interesting," said Jennifer on the walk home.

"Thanks for helping me with my spaceship," said Victor.

"Of course," said Jennifer. "Anytime." And she meant it.


	5. Chapter 5

_GFFA – The Not So Distant Past_

"Why do I have to get dressed up again?" Jaina asked her mother, hands on her hips. "You know I don't like to wear dresses."

"It's a special occasion," Leia said, trying to be as patient as she possibly could. "A friend of mine and daddy's is getting married."

"Yes, I know that, but why can't I wear pants?"

While Leia was thinking of an answer, Jacen walked in and seemed to have a very good idea of just what was going on. "The dress looks nice on you, and you only have to wear it once if you don't like it," he told her.

Jaina scowled at Jacen for daring to take their mom's side. But then, with a sigh she purposely made louder than it had to be, she went back to her room and changed into the dress her mother had bought for Wedge and Iella's wedding. Grudgingly, she had to admit that it was a pretty shade of blue and a cut that looked good on her, even though she couldn't do a whole lot in it. And it seemed so unfair that boys never had to wear dresses.

As it turned out, she was glad she was wearing a dress when she got there. Most of the girls were. It was always nice to feel like she fit in on the rare occasions when she didn't feel the odd one out due to being a part of such a famous, Force-sensitive family.

But she didn't spend most of the time with the girls at that reception. Instead, a boy about her age caught her eye. He had a serious look about him, dark hair, and piercing blue eyes. She was interested in finding out who he was and what had made him so serious. There was sure to be an interesting story there.

It couldn't be that he was Force-sensitive and had become serious due to Jedi training. She hadn't seen him around her uncle's academy, and she'd spent enough time training there she was sure she'd met everyone there. And that was all she could think of - that was what made Jacen so serious, she was sure of it.

"Who's he?" Jaina asked her dad, pointing the mysterious boy out.

"I think that's Wedge's nephew," Han said. "Why don't you go ask him?"

Jaina didn't need to be told twice. She walked right up to him, and found that she was able to get his attention right away.

"I hope this doesn't sound too strange," she began, "But I was wondering who you were."

The boy smiled, and Jaina thought it was a very nice smile, as well as one that showed he was only happy to get some attention. It would have been awful if he'd thought Jaina was weird for being curious.

"I'm Jag," he said. "I'm here because that's my uncle getting married, and my mom and I haven't seen him in a long time."

"Do you want to be a pilot like him?" Jaina asked. That would be great if they had that in common. She wanted to be as good a pilot as her dad someday. He'd promised to show her how and she wanted to prove to him that she could be just as good a copilot as Chewie.

"I'm going to the Chiss military academy," Jag said. "It's a family tradition on my father's side."

This was something that Jaina could relate to. She'd heard entirely too many battle stories from her parents and uncle. They didn't all end well, but she brushed that from her mind as she didn't want to seem like a downer in front of Jag.

"Good luck with that," she said, and she meant it. Not that she knew much about what went on at the Chiss Academy, but she knew that it was an honor to go.

"Thank you," he said. "You're Jaina Solo, aren't you?" he continued after a moment.

"Yes," she said. "And I'm not surprised that you know that." Everybody seemed to know who she was, even if she didn't know who they were. Most of the time she wasn't happy about that, even though it might turn out to be helpful in this particular situation.

Jag nodded. "We do get the Holonews, even in Chiss territory."

It was Jaina's turn to nod. "I'm on it, I guess?" Somehow she wasn't surprised about that.

"Yes, you are." He paused for a moment, and then seemed to realize how that might sound. "Not that it's bad news or anything," he added.

"That's good to know." She wasn't sure that she wanted to know what the Chiss Holonews was saying about her and the rest of her family, but at least it wasn't so bad that Jag didn't even want to talk to her.

After a beat, the two seemed to realize that dancing had started on the floor. Jag's eyes got bright and he turned towards Jaina.

"Miss Solo, would you like to dance?" he asked in a way that Jaina found she didn't want to say no.

In fact, even though Jaina didn't dance very often, that actually sounded like a good idea. "Yes, I would," she said, not caring about how graceful she'd look. After all, she tried to tell herself that it couldn't be that hard to do – and she'd be with Jag.

And with that, the two of them went to the dance floor, not paying much attention to anyone but each other. Luckily, the song was one that Jaina knew and liked quite a bit – it had a tune that caught her imagination.

It didn't take long for Jaina to realize that Jag was actually a decent dancer. They were having fun keeping time to the music and keeping off each other's toes. It did take some concentration, but it wasn't as hard as she'd thought that it might be to learn the basic moves. And she didn't think that anyone was looking too carefully, which was the nice part about not having an important role in the wedding.

"When you get the hang of it, you can actually concentrate on something besides not stepping on each other," said Jag.

Jaina hoped that she would get to that point quickly. And, in fact, each song did get better and better. This was a relief that she could pay attention to something besides making sure she looked like she knew what she was doing and not embarrassing herself.

She wanted to keep on talking to Jag and see what she could find out about what he was like under the surface. After all, she was already getting the idea that he had an interesting life story, especially for someone his age. This was something they had in common, and she didn't meet people she felt she had something in common with all that often.

So when the next song ended, Jaina led Jag off the dance floor, even though she had no intention of going to find anyone else until the reception was over.

"I hope I didn't take you off the dance floor to soon," said Jaina. "I just wanted to be able to hear myself think for a little while." She did in fact need a break as she realized she'd been breathing harder than she realized.

"That's fine," said Jag. "I didn't mean we had to dance the whole rest of the reception or anything."

"And I guess I was wondering, well, what is it like in Chiss territory?" Somehow Jaina thought that would explain a lot about Jag and why he seemed so mature and for his age.

"They're tough," he began. "They care about what you do, not who you are. So I want to prove to them that I can do great things."

"Are you sure you don't care too much about their approval?" Jaina asked.

"It's not just that," said Jag. "It's that I don't want my talents to go to waste. Maybe I could do great things that aren't the type they would appreciate, but I won't learn those things from them."

Somehow this made quite a bit of sense to Jaina. It was like her trying to prove herself to the Jedi to show that she could be a great one on her own terms. She didn't want to just coast on her name and being the Grandmaster's niece.

"I wouldn't want my talents going to waste either," said Jaina in a tone that somehow came out as more thoughtful than she'd intended.

"I'm sure you won't," said Jag. "You strike me as a girl who's willing to work hard to get what she wants."

"I'd like to think so," said Jaina. "And right now I'm focusing on being the best Jedi and pilot I can be."

"You'll be great," said Jag. "And I'm not just saying that because of who your family is. It's because you're an intelligent and driven young woman."

"Thank you," she replied, and she meant it. It wasn't too often that she got encouragement like that. It didn't matter that this was the first time she'd met Jag. She thought that he somehow knew her well enough to be able to make a statement like that and have it mean something.

"And I hope you join the human world again eventually," she said after a beat. "I know you can do things that would make your own species proud too."

"I will," Jag said. "Don't think the Chiss will ever let me forget that I'm not completely one of them."

Jaina believed that, even though she didn't know that much about the Chiss. As much time as he spent with them and learned their ways, it wasn't easy to ignore that he didn't look like them or have the same abilities as them.  
And it was very good to know he planned on joining the rest of the Galaxy eventually. Somehow she had a feeling this wasn't the last she'd see of Jag.


	6. Chapter 6

_Window Rock Elementary _

Anthony was having a horrible day. In a sense, that wasn't surprising. It seemed like the other boys couldn't understand that he was just reserved. So they'd think he was weird and pick on him as some of the bullies couldn't seem to get through the day without having someone to pick on.

"Bug," they called. "You should run along if you don't want to hang out with us. You probably have to spend all your time doing homework to pass classes anyway." Not that it mattered at that second, but that wasn't even true. Not that he wanted to seem like a nerd, but he could get good grades just fine.

"I'm going along," he called. "But to do something much more interesting than homework." He just had to figure out what that was. As the boys took off to find someone else to bother, he didn't even have to explain what the something better was anyway. He then realized that one of the girls had noticed this and was watching him. He thought that he saw pity in her green eyes.

Tina couldn't understand why those boys insisted on bullying Anthony at every possible opportunity. He was a little on the quiet side, but who really cared about that? It didn't mean he was stupid or weird or whatever those boys thought it meant.

"I'm sorry," she told him. "But you know, what do they say, what doesn't kill you will make you stronger."

Anthony didn't look like that helped much, but he did look like he was happy that she was talking to him. "This may sound crazy," he told her, "but would you like to go into the woods? I mean, I know we don't have much homework and I thought I might have seen something interesting out there when I was there last."

"You did?" Tina couldn't help but ask. "Something like what?" It was hard to tell from Anthony's tone what this "something interesting" might be.

"A bunch of metal," he started. "And I'm sure I know where in the woods it is. It's just that when I first saw it I was on the way to school and didn't want to be late and have my parents have to be called and everything."

After what she'd just seen, Tina didn't have to ask why he hadn't been walking to school on the regular road. And this did sound interesting. "You mean, like a UFO or something?" That would be cool to see, especially if there were alien bodies or something else bizarre to look at.

"It could be," said Anthony. "Or it could just be some appliance someone dumped in the woods. But it's worth checking out."

Tina had to agree, especially as the woods didn't scare her and she didn't have anything important after school that day. Even if it wasn't anything all that interesting, she'd get a walk in the woods with Anthony. So a minute later, they were heading towards the spot in the woods that Anthony had noticed the metal.

It was a nice day outside, with plenty of tall trees and birds singing. There was no sign of anyone around or anything man-made, which made it almost hard to picture metal out here.

And when they found the area, there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary at first glance. But Anthony was so sure that they started digging. Luckily Tina wasn't the type to get upset about a little dirt, although she was starting to doubt if they would actually find anything. She was trying to decide how long they should go at this before trying to tell Anthony he might not have seen metal after all.

But before she could make a final decision about that, she hit something hard. She called to Anthony and kept digging. It certainly was something large and metal, and it didn't seem to be any appliance she'd ever heard of. It only came out of the ground in pieces, and had some strange markings on it that weren't like any she'd seen before.

"Do you think it's Chinese writing?" Tina asked. It looked like those type of characters.

"No idea," Anthony said, "but what would a Chinese plane be doing here?"

Tina had no answer to that. "We don't even know that this is a plane," she answered, though it certainly looked as though it could be one. They just didn't have all the parts, so it was impossible to be completely sure of what they were looking at. One thing was for sure, though, it had been there for a long time, whatever it was. It had been there long enough to rust and start to blend in a strange way with the woods.

There was also the problem of what to do with this discovery. They realized that most of the people of Window Rock would either dismiss it or become panicked, thinking that aliens were coming soon or the Chinese were about to attack or something. So the two decided not to say anything until they knew for sure what it was. No need to be teased or have the entire town come out to their secret hiding place. Besides, it was just metal, so there was no real reason to think that the town was in danger or anything. They could take their time announcing their find to the whole town – and even their parents.

They sketched the symbols on the metal, and went home to see what they could find out about them on Google. What they found made everything even more mysterious. There was no record of those symbols in Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Arabic, Hebrew or any other language with symbols instead of the alphabet. What it did match was a "Wookiepeida" website saying that they were Aurebesh letters, some sort of alphabet someone had made up for the Star Wars movies.

"Is this someone's idea of a joke?" asked Tina. "How could some spaceship from a movie series show up in the woods by here? It wasn't filmed near here, was it?" She'd never heard they were, but you never knew when there was something interesting about your town you just had never heard of.

"I don't think so," said Anthony. "That is weird. Everyone's seen the movies, but who puts that alphabet on a plane?"

Tina had no good answer to that question, so they moved on with their lives and tried to get interested in other things, like how best to avoid bullies and what was good on the internet and TV at that moment. But they couldn't get their mind off of what they'd found – it was so strange and out of place. There had to be an explanation for how it had gotten there, they just couldn't figure out the whole story. At least not yet, but they were determined to find out if they possibly could.

"Think we should call the FBI?" asked Tina after a while. "I don't want to ignore what we found, even if it turns out to be nothing."

"And tell them what? "replied Anthony. "We don't even know for sure what it is out there."

"They could come out with whatever they use to test these things," Tina said confidently.

"If they thought it was worth coming out here they would," Anthony said. He paused thoughtfully for a moment. "If we think about how best to explain what it is so they'll know it's worth checking out, they might come."

This made sense to Tina, so the two of them got off the internet and started taking notes on how best to explain this so that the FBI wouldn't think they were crazy or making a big deal over nothing. They thought they weren't by this point, but grown-ups were always so hard to convince they knew something the adults didn't.

Tina dialed the FBI's number while reading the notes one more time. After going through the recorded numbers, they were finally put on hold after dialing the "to report a crime or other find" button. The two of them then put the phone on speakerdial while trying to watch TV, though they later couldn't remember much of the show.

Finally, there was an actual person on the line. "FBI, do you have anything to report."

"Yes," Tina started. "There's some bizarre metal that looks like it could be a plane. It was found in the woods outside Window Rock."

"Never heard of there," started the agent. "What state is this in?"

"Maine," said Tina. "It's not far from Portland."

"We'll send someone out there when we have time," the agent continued. "But could you give me more information on the metal? What makes you think it's a plane?"

"It's shaped like a wing and has strange symbols on it," said Tina. "They come from the Star Wars movies alphabet."

"I see," the agent said. "And you're absolutely sure this isn't just a lost action figure?"

"Yes," Tina said. "It's big enough it would have to be expensive. Why would someone leave a valuable action figure in the woods? It looks like there was a crash of some kind."

The agent didn't sound impressed. Tina and Anthony hoped the agents were still coming, even though they realized too late they needed a better explanation for why this wasn't just an action figure. They weren't sure how exactly sure how they knew that wasn't it. They were, however, absolutely sure this was no action figure. It had a practical purpose instead of being just a toy you could buy at a store.

But none did, that week or the week after that. Tina and Anthony began to doubt that they were ever coming. But they didn't lose hope that they would eventually find out somehow what it was and how it had gotten there.

And they did – from the most unexpected source out of the sky.


	7. Chapter 7

_Galaxy Far Far Away – The Not-So-Distant Past_

"Do you want to know a secret?" Anakin asked his friend Tahiri. He didn't know anyone else he was comfortable talking to about this, and he thought it would be better to tell someone. This way he would have somebody he wasn't related to give an opinion on whether he was insanely worried about nothing or not.

""Sure," Tahiri's eyes flashed. "You really trust me to keep one?"

Anakin had to admit she had a point. The girl could rarely keep her mouth shut about anything. But he had a feeling that if he explained how important it was to him, she could keep quiet about this.

"Yes," he said," we're friends after all. But this is really important to me."

"Ok," she turned her head in the direction of the jungle. "Let's head out there. That way nobody will overhear."

That sounded like a great idea, and neither of them had anything schedule that moment, so they were quickly off into the jungle. It was a cool, damp day, but there were plenty of flowers and birds chirping to make up for it.

"So," she said when they were well into in the jungle. "What's this all about?" There was an intensity about her that made Anakin realize that this was important to her, and that she would take it seriously. It was one of things that made Tahiri such a good friend.

"Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve to be training as a Jedi." He couldn't think of a better way to start.

Tahiri looked shocked. "Why not? You've been doing great in all your classes, and we've already found every corridor in the Temple."

"Because I'm worried that I could fall to the Dark Side." There. It was good to get that out.

"I seriously don't think you're more at risk of that than anyone else here." She made a pose that gave the impression she had all day to hear the complete explanation of what was really worrying Anakin.

"I mean, because of who my grandfather was."

Tahiri's mouth went into a large O. "So that's what you're worried about."

Anakin nodded. "Yes." That was exactly what he was worried about. He had been for years.

"But you know you're not responsible for what he did. That was all before we were even born."

"I'm still named after him. I've still got his blood in my veins." It made him more terrified than he wanted to admit to anyone. He wasn't sure anyone but his brother and sister and mom and uncle could understand, but there it was. And he didn't want to burden his family with this. They had their own traumas to deal with.

"And so does the Grandmaster. He sure seems to think that he's worthy to lead the entire Order. He's been tempted by the Dark Side, he tells all the students that, but he's on the Light Side now."

She did have a point, Anakin had to admit. Were he and his uncle so different in that way? "Yeah, he is. I guess it's that I haven't been tempted fully yet. I don't know what will happen when it does." After all, even Uncle Luke had a failure at that Dark Side cave on Dagobah. He'd certainly recovered and put that behind him.

"Well, I'm not worried. I know you, and I've never seen you close to the Dark Side. And don't worry about your name, that doesn't necessarily mean anything." Tahiri sounded certain of this, and she wasn't the type to tell him something nice just because she thought that was what he wanted to hear. With what he had heard about the damage one Sith could cause, he needed that at the moment.

True, a name by itself didn't necessarily mean anything. But it scared him anyway, even though his mom had explained why he felt that way. It was something that he couldn't completely explain, even to himself. He just felt it gave him more of a connection to his grandfather than Jacen and Jaina had, even if that didn't exactly make a lot of sense.

"I know I shouldn't worry about that, it's just that I can't help myself sometimes. They say he was fairly innocent before Palpatine corrupted him."

"And he's not around anymore either," Tahiri pointed out. "I really thing that you're worrying about nothing." She paused for a second. "But I can see why you are. You've got a scary heritage all right."

And that was what it probably came down to. "It's a lot to live up too." Not that it was any one person's fault, but he had been putting a lot of pressure on himself. And he thought that others might put pressure on him during the next galactic crisis now that he'd started training and wasn't a little boy anymore.

"But you're not exactly like any of them. You just have to be the best you can." Tahiri seemed to think that this was completely obvious, and maybe it was, but as he was in the family, it was hard to see an outsider's perspective.

And he knew he would be the best Jedi he possibly could. And it was because he wanted to use his talents and be part of the Order and help the Galaxy, not just because of his family. Not that didn't create expectations that he would be a great Jedi, but he knew he had to be his own person and set his own path in life.

"I will be." He meant it, and he wanted everyone to know that he was willing to work as hard as the other Jedi.

"But it sounds like you won't completely trust yourself until you get tested or tempted by the Dark Side in some way."

"That's probably true." Passing something like that, coming out the other end still on the Light Side, would make him more confident that he didn't have anything to worry about, no matter what family he belonged to.

"So you should try and make one happen." Tahiri had a way of making this sound like it was no big deal. And Anakin thought that it wasn't because she didn't understand how frightening Dark Side temptations could be – she was a Jedi apprentice as well, after all – but because she'd faced so much at a young age and was still on the Light Side.

She was the one who had spent her earliest years in the desert with the Sand People after her parents were killed. She was the one who had gone through training every bit as hard as he had and seemed completely unfazed. He had to admire that strength about her and sometimes wondered how she was able to draw on the Force like she did.

"I could ask," said Anakin, liking the idea more and more, as scary as it sounded. It would be good to take care of this fear once and for all. He didn't know why it hadn't occurred to him to ask Uncle Luke to give him Trials. He might say that Anakin hadn't been training long enough, but at least it would put the idea in his mind for later.

But he wasn't in such a hurry he couldn't enjoy more time in the jungle with Tahiri first. It was nice to be able to spend some time outside the Temple with a friend. They didn't have to worry about being sensed or overheard. And it was always interesting to see what was on her mind as well. He loved the way her mind worked and how it went from one fascinating idea to the next. She certainly had a unique perspective on life.

So he asked her "How would you deal with having a family like mine?" Maybe she would have some useful advice about working with fears, fame, and the Force.

She looked thoughtful. "I couldn't be sure, but I do know something about forgiveness within a family."

"You do?" He wasn't sure what she was talking about, though he had a feeling that he should.

"Of course. I forgave those who killed my parents." Tahiri then became unusually interested in looking at the jungle ground, so Anakin gave her a moment to think.

Somehow Anakin had forgotten about that. It was as though she'd somehow just appeared on Tatooine is his mind. As he'd never met her parents, they weren't quite real to him. But at the time, of course it must have been horrible for her. She probably still missed them, no matter that she'd been so young at the time.

"How did you ever do that?" Anakin asked. He realized he wasn't sure if he was capable of that. He didn't know what he'd do if anything happened to his parents or Jaina or Jacen.

"It took a long time, and a lot of pain, and a lot of trying to see things from their perspective. Plus realizing that there was no getting mom and dad back, so I had to do the best I could without them."

She's done well without them. Anakin had never fully appreciated that before with his worries about his family. At least he had one, and one who he knew loved him, even if they weren't exactly normal and never would be.

"You know, I've never thought about how I'd go along without a family," he said thoughtfully. "But you've done fine without one."

"You can do more than you think you can when you have to," said Tahiri. "Though I don't think you have to worry about that. After all, your family seems immortal at times."

Anakin had to laugh at that. "It does seem that way with all we've been through, doesn't it?"

Tahiri nodded, and Anakin realized he was somehow feeling better, even though there were still fears at the back of his mind. He'd just have to learn how not to let them overwhelm him.


	8. Chapter 8

_Galaxy Far Far Away – the Not-so-distant Past_

"Um, dad?" Jaina asked him when she found him in the living room.

Han didn't like the sound of this, no matter how casual the words were. Something was wrong that Jaina was nervous about telling him. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what it was, but thought it would be the responsible thing to do to find out what it was.

"What is it?" he asked, trying to stay as calm as possible and not panic about the worst possibilities even though Jaina didn't get nervous easily.

"There's-something-wrong-with-the-Falcon," came out in a rush after a moment. She then started to watch him carefully for his reaction.

So that was what the problem was. He'd always made it clear to his kids that his mechanical baby was important to him and not a toy they could fly or change parts to whenever they wanted.

"And how would you know this?" asked Han, hoping that Jaina hadn't accidently done anything to it. She was always trying to see if she could do repairs on it and wanted to fly it, although Han wouldn't let her unless he was there in the cockpit.

"I tried to turn on the lights so I could see to get it ready to show Jag, and it's still dark in there."

Han had a feeling that he and Chewie could fix the Falcon's electrical system without too much trouble. What was more interesting was that Jaina was planning on giving Jag Fel a tour. He was a nice boy and all, but he wanted to know when someone was going in his ship.

"I didn't know that Jag was getting a tour of the Falcon," Han began cautiously.

"Well, I wanted to give him an excuse to come over. He's interested in any ships left over from the war against the Empire." This was all matter-of-fact enough that Han was reminded her generation didn't remember anything from when the Empire was still in power.

"Fine, I know he's a friend of yours and he's responsible." He found that he really wasn't all that upset about the whole situation, even though he thought that Jag was probably interested in more than taking a look at the Falcon. It wasn't like he could expect Jaina to be single forever and really, Jag wasn't a bad guy or anything like that. Jag was certainly principled and hard working. He was also an entirely too serious boy who he thought could hardly understand his sarcasm, but if Jaina didn't mind that, he told himself he really shouldn't either.

At that moment, he got an idea that could solve his electrical problem and give him a chance to talk to his daughter about boys. "But you can help me fix the electrical system so the lights will turn on again," he said as enthusiastically as he could so Jaina would know that she wasn't in trouble.

"Could I help? Really?" It was an extra bonus to have a daughter who didn't consider this sort of thing a punishment. Many girls didn't like the idea of being crouched over for hours and grease and who knows what else could come up while going about these types of repairs. He had no idea why so many of them seemed afraid of being dirty, even for a little while.

"Of course," he said, and the two of them took off to see what was wrong with the Falcon and how they could fix it.

Before they could do anything, they grabbed a light so they could see in the electrical area and hopefully find out what was wrong quickly. After they got the current guard open, they shined the light all around, to see what they could see. Everything looked like it was just fine at first glance; although there were so many wires it was hard to be completely sure that the problem wasn't right there in front of them.

"I don't want you to get shocked," he told Jaina. "So I'm going to have to go back there and see if I can figure out what's wrong."

Jaina wasn't too happy about this idea. "I'm not going anywhere. I don't want you to get shocked either." Han knew better than to argue with Jaina when she was that persistent. She wasn't often protective of him even though he wasn't Force-sensitive and she was, so he just went with these modes. It would be the easiest, fastest way that they could get this repaired and go on with their day, which was the most important thing at the moment.

"I won't. I know this ship." Han started to carefully push the wires aside and see how far back he could safely reach. Jaina was never far away, and with the worried look on her face, he thought she wouldn't stop worrying until the wires were perfectly back in place. He shouldn't have said anything about getting shocked. He was just worrying her when he was sure that he was going to be just fine.

To keep her mind off of things, he called out from the electrical box, "So, what led to Jag getting this invitation to come over?"

Jaina shrugged. "It's that we have a good time whenever we can spend some together. And he doesn't see me as different for, well, being a celebrity or whatever you want to call it. We can just talk about things and we needed someplace where there definitely won't be any Holoreporters."

So that was at least part of it. Han pulled his head out of the mess of wires and took a look at Jaina. He thought for a moment about the best way to handle this. He wanted something that neither ignored the situation nor made him sound like he felt sorry for Jaina.

"I know it's hard being part of this family sometimes," he started. "You had to get used to having a lot to live up to and the Holonews in your face from the time you were, well,"

"About five," Jaina supplied. "And I know it's not your fault or anything, it's just weird at times being treated differently because of who your family is. A lot of days I can't even get a cup of caf without some sleazy Holojournalist wanting pictures. Not to mention being expected to help out with the latest galactic crisis. And they just seem to keep on coming."

"I'm still sorry about the whole mess," said Han. "Don't think your mom and I haven't talked about this and how we can make things marginally more normal for you and Jacen and Anakin."

"You did?" Jaina somehow sounded surprised, as though her parents might not have noticed they weren't exactly a normal family. Kids could think that their parents were so clueless at times.

"Of course we did. And I guess that goes back to Jag. I don't think he's been raised exactly normally himself." He'd heard a little about life with the Chiss and heard Wedge talk about his sister and her family once.

Jaina shuck her head. "No, he hadn't even been raised around humans except for his own family. And he's also had a lot of pressure put on him to be successful, though I can't tell yet what his family put on him, what the Chiss put on him, and what he put on himself. But there's probably some of all three."

Han had to laugh at that. "Well, you three are an improvement over that at least. And I thought that was hard to do."

"Maybe it is." It was Jaina's turn to laugh. "But anyway, I do feel like he understands me and I did want to spend some time with him, and this was my best invitation idea."

"When you put it that way, I'm glad you thought of putting your old man's ship to good use."

"We'll take good care of it. I know it means a lot to you." And Han was sure that she wouldn't let anything happen to the Falcon.

At that point, Han got back in the mess of wires and perhaps because of having the break and looking at everything fresh, he was able to see what the problem was. The first step towards getting everything fixed and the lights back on was done. It felt good to have that finished relatively quickly and be on to the actual work of fixing these old wires.

Before long, the two of them were both able to work on getting the wires repaired, and eventually the lights were back on in the Falcon. No matter how many similar repairs had been done over the years, this always led to a nice feeling of accomplishment. He let that feeling sink in for a minute.

And as the two of them left the Falcon, he was glad that he'd been able to spend some time with his daughter. And more than that, he was glad she'd discovered something was wrong with the ship and that she'd invited Jag to it, although he would have wanted her to ask him first.

"So," he told Jaina,"can I make a request for the next time you give someone an initiation to come here?"

"Ok," said Jaina, sounding curious about what it could be.

"Ask me first next time."

"Oh. Yeah. Right. That." Jaina started to sound a little guilty. "It's just that it sounded like such a good idea at the time. I wanted to have someplace to ask him to meet me at, and this came to mind."

"I'm sure it did, so it's ok this once." Han thought his protectiveness of the Falcon had something to do with it.

But it was nice to see the Falcon being passed down to another generation, even if he wasn't ready to fully give it up. So he couldn't complain too much, especially as Jaina hadn't meant any harm.


	9. Chapter 9

_Window Rock_

John had always enjoyed working on cars. He made them run, or if they were already running, faster and prettier. They were easier to figure out with to do with than people a lot of the time, and he never minded getting dirty or physical work. Not to mention there were enough cars in Window Rock that were old enough to need repairs and there was no other mechanic in town. It kept the bills paid and gave him something to do with his hands.

Still, things could get lonely in the garage if he was in there enough hours by himself. He'd been thinking of taking on an apprentice for some time, but he had to find the perfect person. He had to admit that he wasn't patient with just anyone, but needed someone who was talented and he enjoyed working with.

And then one day he got an unexpected visitor to the garage. She wasn't even old enough to drive, but was good with her hands and seemed genuinely interested in cars. She originally came in to check and see if her mom's car was fixed, but then stayed longer than was necessary to admire every single car in the garage. As it happened, there were a few from Window Rock's wealthier citizens in his garage at the time.

"This car is the prettiest design," she said about a blue Porsche, her brown eyes shining, "And I bet it's a fast one when you get it on a straight road."

"It sure is," he said, fighting the urge to laugh at this unexpected conversation. "I've taken it out on the highway outside of town. Just don't tell its owner."

"I won't," shrugged Jennifer. "Believe me, I have absolutely no interest in telling on people, especially to snobs." This was all said so matter-of-factly that John was impressed.

This was his type of girl – someone he could relate too. He wasn't sure if she was good with her hands or not, but she certainly did have personality and seemed to be bright as well.

"This might sound like a crazy question, but are you any good with your hands?" he asked her, having a feeling he knew the answer.

"I made a sword in wordworking class," she said, obviously proud of what she'd made. "I could bring it when mom's car is ready. It's still in the shop at school so it can get a grade."

Well, that was a start. She probably would be able to learn to work on cars if she wanted to. A bright girl who could work with her hands might be just what he needed at the moment to finish up his insane list of orders on time.

"You know, I sure could use an apprentice," he said. "You know, if you were interested. I can pay you and everything."

"Could you?' she said. "I could use some money my mom can't take away from me. And most of these are such cool cars. I'd like to learn how to work on them and then I can take care of my own when I get a driver's license."

"Yeah," he said. "I really could. We could help each other out – I've got a lot of orders on my plate right now."

"Great!" she said, and she sure seemed to mean it. "When can I start?" She started to watch John expectantly.

John had rarely seen such enthusiasm before. He had to admit it was cute – as well as solving one of his problems. Now he'd hopefully be able to get those cars back to their owners before anyone got upset with him and threatened to not pay him or something along those lines. That was the worst to deal with, not because he couldn't handle himself, but he didn't want anyone implying he didn't put care into his work. He certainly did put pride into every project he took on.

"After school on Monday works for me." Jennifer was trying to appear casual, but he could tell she was thrilled at the offer. He hoped she'd be thrilled after she saw how much work was involved.

"Great! See you then." Jenifer then left, but John noticed the spring that had come into her step.

For some reason, John thought about Jennifer for quite a long time after she left. She was just a neighborhood girl, but somehow he knew that there was something special about her. There was something about her that reminded him of himself when he was younger, before he'd become cynical and given up on ever getting out of Window Rock. That must have been what had gotten his attention and what had him looking forward to Monday. He needed to get that idealism back somehow. It could be done no matter how old you were – couldn't it? He had to hold out hope that it could.

In any case, the following Monday, Jennifer showed up as promised right after school was over. She'd worn her most casual clothes to school – her torn jeans and oldest t-shirt. It was good she wasn't afraid of getting dirty. And as important, she still looked as thrilled as she had been to start working on cars. In fact, she was so excited about the cars in his garage that he was glad he didn't have to buy her one or tell her she couldn't have one when she turned 16. Facing disappointment was never easy, no matter how old you got.

John had purposely left something easy to work on one of the cars to use as a training start. Jennifer was a quick learner, and just having her around made the time go faster. They got the car fixed in time, even though they went slowly and he had her put some of the tools in twice to make sure that she got it right. Before long, the brakes were in good condition, which was record work for one day in the garage.

The next visit they got they started on the body work. There was touch up paint and putting wax all over, followed by putting air freshener in for no particular purpose but to give it that new car smell. The car looked as good and shiny as ever, and the two of them were sweaty and greasy but happy.

So when it was time for Jennifer to go home, John asked her to come back and visit when she could. Not only would it be practical, it would make the afternoons more fun. He never thought he'd enjoy himself this much with a girl still in grade school. After all, what could they have in common?

"Sure," she said. "I never have that much homework, and what I get I can do real fast."

"That's good," he said. "You all need some time to just be kids." He never saw the point of having to spend hours on work after hours spent at school doing the exact same subjects.

"Or have a job," Jennifer replied. She never let John forget to pay her after a visit. She claimed to be saving up for something. John wasn't sure what she was planning on buying that her parents wouldn't buy for her. He wasn't sure he wanted to know if it was something she could get in trouble for.

"There is that," John smiled. "But don't try to grow up too fast." Kids never appreciated it when they were young, they were always in a rush to be "grown-ups" and didn't seem to realize that sometimes being a grown-up wasn't as great as it sounded. They didn't have to worry about bills or too many chores or anything like that, and they could get away with more.

Jennifer didn't seem too concerned about that. "I'm having a good time, and I want to be a gown-up. Grown-ups don't have to be in school all day and grown-up guys don't think girls all have cooties."

John had to laugh at that. "No, adult men don't think that girls have cooties. Isn't everyone over that by your age?" He tried to remember how old he was when he started to pay more attention to girls. He thought he had by the time he was her age, but he couldn't be completely sure about that.

Jennifer shook her head. "Not everyone. Only one of the boys in my class will even talk to me."

"That's too bad. I'm sure it'll change though." He couldn't imagine a girl as cute and bright as Jennifer not getting attention from boys sooner or later. If he were her dad he might be more worried about one of the guys taking advantage of her, even though she seemed like she could take care of herself and be a good judge of character. Anyone who wasn't being overprotective had to admit that she'd be sure to turn out just fine.

Jennifer shrugged and the two of them got back to work on that week's project. This particular day they were seeing what was wrong with the engine of a black Corvette. It was an older car, but everything but the engine seemed to be in perfect condition. Someone had been taking care of it, so it was special. They had to do this repair just right or an owner like that would be sure to notice any imperfection.

It was then that Jennifer noticed one of the tools that they hadn't used yet. "What's this for?" she asked.

He turned towards the tool, which he could have sworn had moved closer to Jennifer even though nobody had touched it yet. "That's what we're going to use to remove the brake pads."

"Cool!" said Jennifer, and then the two of them started working on it. John had a feeling that soon there would be another satisfied customer picking up a car with perfect brakes.

Sure, he could have done it by himself. But it was more fun doing it with Jennifer.


	10. Chapter 10

Galaxy Far Far Away – Hapes - Present

As Jacen approached the palace on Hapes, he found himself much more nervous than he expected. Whether it was because he was scared that he wouldn't see Tenel Ka again or because he was afraid the hyperdrive he had obtained wouldn't work as expected, he couldn't be exactly sure.

He'd heard that the unknown was frightening. Well, this hyperdrive certainly could take him into the unknown. But it was his only chance of finding his family. He couldn't possibly pass it up. What would that do to him, not to mention all those under the cloned Sith Emperor? And what was his family doing now? There was just no way to find out for sure. All that was known for sure was that they were needed right here. And nobody had seen them in years, or expected to them ever again. But of course Jacen couldn't stop trying to find a way to get to them. He knew that if anyone in the Galaxy could do something to find them, it was him.

Tenel Ka came out of the palace before he'd even quite made it to the front steps. He wasn't surprised that she'd sensed him coming. Even though it had been a while since they had trained together at the Academy, there were some things that were never completely forgotten.

"Jacen! You were saying you'd found something important?" she said as she hugged him. Being patient was never one of Tenel Ka's strong points. In this case, though, it was all Jacen wanted to talk about. So, with his hands trembling, he opened his pack and pulled out the hyperdrive.

"It's this that's so important. It could be the only chance to get my family back."

Tenel Ka looked confused. "Is that a hypedrive? It doesn't look like any that I've ever seen."

Jacen took a deep breath. "It's a hyperdrive all right, but not a normal one. I had to go into the cloned Emperor's storage area to get my hands on this." Tenel Ka hated to ask how he had managed that one.

"You think it'll take you to where your family is?" Nobody knew where they were, except for the cloned Emperor saying they were "somewhere beyond the Galaxy where there were humans but no Force."

Jacen nodded. "It's programmed for somewhere beyond the Galaxy. That's what I know for sure."

"Do you have any idea where beyond the Galaxy? Can you ever make it back here?" Nobody ever went that many lightyears away, even with hyperdrive. Even whether there were any planets that could support life that far away was officially a mystery. Most suspected that there probably were many. 

This was the part that worried Jacen, as much as he hated to admit it, even to himself. He really had no idea if the hyperdrive would work well enough and long enough to get everyone back. And did hyperdrives even work beyond the Galaxy? It was hard to tell what rules of physics might or might not change.

"I don't know. I just know that I have to try this. How else is anyone ever coming back home?"

Tenel Ka understood. "It's your family. I won't stop you from putting this in a ship and taking off." She suspected that Jacen would always be resentful of her if she even tried to stop him from something so important. Besides, she wanted everyone who had disappeared back herself.

"I knew you wouldn't try to stop me. I came here, though, to say goodbye. And to make sure you knew what happened to me if I'm not back soon."

"Thank you for telling me what your plans are," Tenel Ka said, and then seemed to take a moment to decide how she wanted to continue. "And I'm sure you'll make it back - with everyone – somehow. I'll wait for you." And she was sure she could wait a long time for someone as special as Jacen.

"That means so much to me," Jacen started, sounding like he might start to cry at any moment. "I love you, and you know I'll come back as soon as I possibly can. I just can't abandon everyone to whatever life they have now."

"And you shouldn't." As much as Tenel Ka hated to admit it, this was their best chance of seeing everyone who had disappeared again. It wasn't like she had any better ideas or the Emperor was planning on bringing everyone back anytime soon. "It's for the best, for you and for the Galaxy. And you could very well be back soon with everyone." It was certainly a good possibility. After all, what were the chances the hyperdrive was programmed somewhere other than where everyone had been sent?

"I'm trying to be optimistic," he said. "I have to be. I couldn't just give up the chance to see mom and dad, and Jaina and Anakin, and Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara, and.." he stopped, seemingly choked up.

"It's ok to cry, Jacen." Tenel Ka said as calmly as she could manage at the moment. "You've been through an insane amount of grief. And it's just me here." And the two of them just stayed there, letting their grief and worry through them until they managed to get by enough to keep on walking at least.

After a while, they went inside so they could talk some more and decide what ship the hyperdrive should be plugged into. "You know you can use any of the Hapan ships you want." Tenel Ka said as they headed towards the royal spaceport landing in the back.

"Don't they belong to your father?" Jacen asked, although he didn't exactly sound surprised.

Tenel Ka was sure that her father wouldn't mind one of the ships disappearing for a good cause. So she shrugged. "Technically, yes, but he spoils me rotten. And he wants your family back home as well."

"Thanks for letting me choose one, then." Jacen said, trying to stay as positive as he could.

Jacen's eyes grew wider as he reached the spaceport. "You have this many ships here at the same time?"

Ternel Ka had always been hard to impress. "You knew this is a wealthy system, yes?"

Jacen nodded. "Of course, but I've never seen anything like this. And I've seen quite a few spaceports."

"Should I give you some time to look around?" something about the way Jacen was acting made Tenel Ka think that he might want some privacy.

Jacen looked grateful to have some time alone with his thoughts. "Sure. I'll find you before I leave, though. I promise I won't just take off and let you realize I'm gone." And he meant it - he wouldn't leave Tenel Ka hanging. And there was one more thing he wanted to do before he was out of the Galaxy. It would feel good, and had become so right with all that had happened recently.

After Tenel Ka left, Jacen went carefully by each ship, taking his time until he found the perfect one. It was large enough to fit a small town inside, as well as being beautiful and well-maintained. Trying not to worry about what could happen if anything went wrong, he removed the hyperdrive currently in it and replaced it with the one he'd brought with him. It fit perfectly and Jacen had to admire this for a moment.

Now all that was left was to take it into space and turn the hyperdrive on. Theoretically, it should be easy to do. Theoretically, it should take him back to his family. He couldn't think too hard about what might happen if he couldn't'. It just had to, and that was all there was to it.

He went to find Tenel Ka, who was waiting for him and clearly planning out in her mind what to tell him before he left.

"You've got the hyperdrive into a ship?" she asked, somehow already knowing the answer.

"Yes, it fit just right," Jacen said. "There's nothing to do now but take off and see what happens."

Tenel Ka nodded, not sure what to say to that at first. "True, and even if it doesn't, you'll know that you did what you could to get everyone back home."

Jacen thought that Tenel Ka did have an important point there. He needed to be able to live with himself no matter what happened. Even if he did have to come back without finding everyone – not that he would dwell on that possibility too hard – this would help with that.

So the two of them went back to the spaceport and Jacen showed Tenel Ka the ship that he'd chosen. Tenel Ka looked at it approvingly.

"That's one of our best ones," she said. "It won't break down on you. I'm sure of that much."

"That's good to know," said Jacen, stepping closer to her. "And there's one last thing I have to do before I go."

Somehow Tenel Ka knew exactly what that was. "Oh there is?" she asked, enjoying the moment as much as she could.

Jacen smiled. "Yes, I have to say goodbye to you in just the right way."

The two of them kissed, tentatively at first, and then hungrily. Then didn't want to stop, but just enjoyed the feel of lips touching and the two of them being so close together.

When they finally stopped, Jacen looked into her eyes. "I wanted to have that to remember you by." They both knew they always would, no matter what happened afterward. They'd gone from being Jedi Academy rivals to being able to count on one another. And more importantly, have feeling for one another. There was no possible denying it after what had just happened.

He walked up the ramp, called out one last goodbye to her, and then he took the ship out of the hanger. Before long, the ship couldn't be seen from Hapan space anymore.


End file.
